DRIVER RATINGS: Alonso shows Alpine what they’ll be missing in F1 2023

George Russell - 10

As close to as perfect for George Russell. He drove beautifully in the sprint, overtaking Max Verstappen in the process. After securing pole position, Russell controlled the race from the front, resisting late pressure from Lewis Hamilton after the Safety Car.

Lewis Hamilton - 8

Another great weekend from Hamilton at Interlagos. He backed up Russell’s great performance with two impressive recovery drives - in the sprint and the grand prix. While the stewards deemed it to be Verstappen’s fault on the restart, in my opinion, Hamilton could have left his 2021 F1 title rival more room. That combined with his qualifying performance is why he wasn’t given a higher rating.

Carlos Sainz - 8

Carlos Sainz once again led Ferrari's charge in Brazil. A tear-off in his brake duct forced Sainz into the pits prematurely but it didn’t hamper his race too severely, racing amongst the frontrunners. Ferrari ultimately got their strategy right, stopping Sainz under the Safety Car for softs, allowing him to overtake Perez for the final spot on the podium.

Charles Leclerc - 7

Another interesting strategy call from Ferrari in qualifying left Charles Leclerc well down the order. His strong recovery in the sprint was undone by an unfortunate collision with Lando Norris following the Safety Car in the grand prix. It wasn’t Leclerc’s fault with Norris handed a five-second penalty by the stewards. The Monegasque recovered to finish fourth in the end, running just ahead of Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso - 9

It was vintage Alonso in Brazil this weekend. He did make an uncharacteristic mistake in the sprint race, running into the back of teammate Esteban Ocon. However, all weekend his pace has been spectacular. The late Safety Car period was timely but he made a series of overtakes to move up to fifth, strengthening Alpine’s position in the constructors’ championship.

Max Verstappen - 6

Red Bull simply didn’t have the pace at Interlagos but had the reigning champion had a cleaner weekend, he probably could have fought amongst the top three. Verstappen’s Sunday was undone by an opportunistic move on Hamilton into Turn 1. He was handed a five-second penalty for the incident - on the harsh side, probably. Still, a scrappy weekend on the whole for Verstappen.

Sergio Perez - 6

Sergio Perez dropped like a stone after the Safety Car as he struggled on his medium tyres. Up until that point, he was on course to finish a lacklustre fourth, highlighting Red Bull’s lack of pace this weekend. 

Esteban Ocon - 7

Like teammate Alonso, Ocon did well to bounce back from a disappointing sprint race to finish inside the top eight. The Safety Car period allowed him to overtake Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel - who were ahead of the Frenchman before it.

Valtteri Bottas - 8

Another strong weekend from Bottas. Ninth wasn’t a true reflection of his pace this weekend given that he was running in fifth before the Safety Car. The wet conditions continue to be his main downfall, however, another crucial haul of points for Alfa Romeo in their fight with Aston Martin for sixth.

Lance Stroll - 7

Lance Stroll nicked the final point in the end. He was the slower of the two Aston Martins, reflected in his overall rating for this weekend.

Sebastian Vettel - 8

Vettel’s decision to retire continues to be even more perplexing given how well he is performing in the car. He ran as high as fifth in the first stint on the softs. Like Perez, he was on used mediums at the Safety Car meaning he lost out to Verstappen, Ocon and Stroll, dropping to 11th overall.

Zhou Guanyu - 7

A quiet weekend for Zhou Guanyu. His main highlight was once again beating teammate Bottas in damp conditions. 

Mick Schumacher - 6

After a disappointing qualifying, Schumacher progressed up the order in the sprint to secure 12th on the grid. He ran in the points early on but couldn’t sustain a top 10 position as the quicker Alfa Romeos and Aston Martins got through. 

Pierre Gasly - 6

Pierre Gasly must be looking forward to life with Alpine. Despite his strong starting position, AlphaTauri lacked race pace, losing out to the likes of Bottas, Vettel, Stroll and the recovering Alpines.

Alex Albon - 7

The quicker of the two Williams drivers in Sao Paulo. He was unfortunate with his mechanical issue in the sprint, dropping him to the back of the grid. Williams were simply the slowest car this weekend. 

Nicholas Latifi - 5 

We didn’t see too much of Nicholas Latifi this weekend. A spin in FP2 was his most notable moment of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Yuki Tsunoda - 5

Yuki Tsunoda had his work cut out starting from the pit lane after AlphaTauri made changes to his car under parc ferme conditions. He started on the hards   and struggled to make much progress on a difficult weekend for the team.

Lando Norris - 6

Lando Norris once again excelled in the damp conditions, securing fourth for the sprint. Inevitably he dropped down the order as Hamilton, Leclerc and Perez recovered. Norris made a great start on the softs, moving ahead of Leclerc for fifth. The pair tangled on the Safety Car restart, with the stewards deeming it to be the McLaren driver’s fault - rightly so. A rare mistake from Norris.

Daniel Ricciardo - 3

A miserable weekend from Daniel Ricciardo. His race ended on the opening lap after he hit the back of Kevin Magnussen.

Kevin Magnussen - 10

Magnussen shocked everyone on Friday as he secured his and Haas’ first-ever pole position. He converted that into a points finish in the sprint race. Unfortunately, his grand prix came to an end prematurely after he was spun out by Ricciardo.